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“Do
Not Weep” by Melanie Rigney (@melanierigney)
Therefore, a bishop must be irreproachable, married only once,
temperate, self-controlled, decent, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard,
not aggressive, but gentle, not contentious, not a lover of money. (1
Timothy 3:2-3)
I will walk with blameless
heart. (Psalm 101:2)
As he drew near to the gate of the city, a man who
had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a
widow. A large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, he was
moved with pity for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” He stepped forward and
touched the coffin; at this, the bearers halted, and he said, “Young man, I tell
you, arise!” The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his
mother. (Luke 7:12-15)
Piety
Comfort me, Lord.
Study
The parallelism is striking: A grieving, widowed mother who has
now lost her only son. Jesus tells him to rise—and he does, and Jesus returns
him to his mother. It will not be long before another grieving, widowed mother
loses her son, this time for three days. His return will change the world.
Our world can feel filled with grief: loved ones leave us. Our
minds and bodies fail us. We see no way that things will ever get better, that
we will ever celebrate the new normal that does not include a beloved spouse,
child, friend, that provides for less independence and more reliance on others
for the most intimate of bodily functions.
And we may be right. Few in this world will experience the
miracle described in today’s Gospel, of the return of something or someone we
were quite sure, was lost forever. The new normal may never be comfortable or
joyous.
But as Christians, we cling to this: Faith in the Lord can
never, ever be stripped from us; it’s ours to keep or discard as we like. When
“everything else” we know as familiar and usual is gone, do not weep for it.
Hold on for dear life to what is eternal.
Action
Spend some prayer time today with Mama Mary, who knew profound
loss and kept the faith.
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